Cronuts

I made these for my daughter and son in law's 20 wedding anniversary dinner.   Wow hard to believe my little girl has been married that long.  Thinking back I remember all the fun things getting ready for the big day.  Shopping for her dress, deciding where to have the reception.  At the time my sister in law was still living in NY, so her, her daughter and her granddaughter came out via AMTrack, she said they had a wonderful time seeing all the sights.  Can't remember now how long it took, maybe 2 days.  My niece wouldn't fly so that's why they took the train.

found it here 
printable

Ingredients

1 8 oz. seamless crescent dough sheet

1 cup canola oil
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

 Roll out dough sheet on your work surface. Fold in half and then fold again. Using a rolling pin, slightly and carefully roll out the folded dough sheet until you can cut out 3 (3 1/2 inch) doughnut shapes out of the dough. Reroll the scraps and cut out 2 additional doughnut shapes.

 Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F. Fry doughnuts 1-2 minutes per side or until golden. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. While the cronuts are slightly cooling, prepare the glaze by whisking together the sugar and milk until smooth. Dip cronuts into the glaze, let sit for a couple of minutes (to let the glaze set) and enjoy.

Notes

1. Cronuts are best when enjoyed immediately.

Almond Cherry Scones

 This was a work treat.  It was a huge hit and several said it's one of their favorites and any time I want to make them again would be fine with them.  They really are wonderful.  Just the right amount of almond flavor and sweetness.  Something I will make many more times.  Will probably be an item I will add to my holiday baking.

printable
 adapted from here
Cherry Marzipan Scones

Makes 12  scones
For the scones:
1/2 cup (4 3/4 ounces) fresh, moist almond paste, crumbled
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, in 1/2" cubes
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons greek yogurt (I used low-fat), plus extra for serving
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups or 1 pkg of frozen sweet cherries (you can use fresh sweet cherries, stemmed, pitted and quartered to equal 1 cup)

For the top:
1-2 tablespoons milk or cream
a small handful of sliced almonds (preferably unblanched)
1 tablespoon coarse sugar
In the body of a food processor, combine the almond paste, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Pulse to combine and break up the almond paste. Add the butter, and pulse until the mixture resembles gravel, with a few pea-sized butter chunks throughout. Dollop the yogurt over the top, sprinkle with the almond extract, and pulse until the mixture begins to form large clumps and looks somewhat homogeneous.
Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, dust the top lightly with flour, and roll into a 12 by 8" rectangle, turning and flipping the dough, dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking.
Lay the prepared cherries over half the dough. Fold the other half of the dough over the cherries, and press down gently but firmly (this will help the cherries stay in place when you slice and move the scones). Freeze the mega-scone until fairly firm, but not frozen, 20 minutes.
Position a rack in the upper center of the oven and preheat to 425ºF. Line a heavy baking sheet with parchment paper, and stack it on top of a second heavy baking sheet.
Use a sharp chef's knife to trim away the outer 1/4" from each side of the scone, then cut into 12 squares. Brush the tops with cream, sprinkle with the almonds, pressing them lightly into the scones, then sprinkle with the coarse sugar.
Carefully transfer the scones to the parchment sheet pan, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake the scones until they are golden brown on top, 18-20 minutes.
Let the scones cool to warm. They are best served shortly after baking (with more greek yogurt!) but will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature. Reheat in an oven or toaster oven for best results.
Thanks for taking time to stop by, have a great week and Always Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the things You L♥ve.
Donna

Almond Cherry Scones

 This was a work treat.  It was a huge hit and several said it's one of their favorites and any time I want to make them again would be fine with them.  They really are wonderful.  Just the right amount of almond flavor and sweetness.  Something I will make many more times.  Will probably be an item I will add to my holiday baking.

printable
 adapted from here
Cherry Marzipan Scones

Makes 12  scones
For the scones:
1/2 cup (4 3/4 ounces) fresh, moist almond paste, crumbled
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, in 1/2" cubes
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons greek yogurt (I used low-fat), plus extra for serving
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups or 1 pkg of frozen sweet cherries (you can use fresh sweet cherries, stemmed, pitted and quartered to equal 1 cup)

For the top:
1-2 tablespoons milk or cream
a small handful of sliced almonds (preferably unblanched)
1 tablespoon coarse sugar
In the body of a food processor, combine the almond paste, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Pulse to combine and break up the almond paste. Add the butter, and pulse until the mixture resembles gravel, with a few pea-sized butter chunks throughout. Dollop the yogurt over the top, sprinkle with the almond extract, and pulse until the mixture begins to form large clumps and looks somewhat homogeneous.
Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, dust the top lightly with flour, and roll into a 12 by 8" rectangle, turning and flipping the dough, dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking.
Lay the prepared cherries over half the dough. Fold the other half of the dough over the cherries, and press down gently but firmly (this will help the cherries stay in place when you slice and move the scones). Freeze the mega-scone until fairly firm, but not frozen, 20 minutes.
Position a rack in the upper center of the oven and preheat to 425ºF. Line a heavy baking sheet with parchment paper, and stack it on top of a second heavy baking sheet.
Use a sharp chef's knife to trim away the outer 1/4" from each side of the scone, then cut into 12 squares. Brush the tops with cream, sprinkle with the almonds, pressing them lightly into the scones, then sprinkle with the coarse sugar.
Carefully transfer the scones to the parchment sheet pan, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake the scones until they are golden brown on top, 18-20 minutes.
Let the scones cool to warm. They are best served shortly after baking (with more greek yogurt!) but will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature. Reheat in an oven or toaster oven for best results.
Thanks for taking time to stop by, have a great week and Always Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the things You L♥ve.
Donna

Chicken Thighs with Apricot glaze

This dish is just wonderful.  Has just the right amount of sweetness and the fresh basil and mustard gives it such a wonderful depth of flavor.  A must try.

adapted from here

1 1/4 pounds, or about 3 bone-in & skin-on chicken thighs (pasture-raised)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
Apricot Basil Glaze
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon smooth dijon mustard
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1/2 cup Cascadian Farm Organic apricot preserves
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons minced basil
Rub chicken thighs with 1 tablespoons olive oil and salt, then let sit while you prepare the sauce so that they come close to room temperature.
For sauce, heat olive oil to medium high heat in a small saucepan. Add shallot and salt, cooking for 3-4 minutes until translucent. Stir in mustard, vinegar and preserves. Lightly simmer for 5-6 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in basil and turn off heat.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to medium high heat in a 12 inch cast-iron skillet. Wait until very hot, then add chicken thighs skin side down. Cook for 3 minutes, then turn heat down to medium and continue to cook for 8 more minutes so that it can “fry” in it’s own fat, until skin is golden brown. Flip and cook for 10 minutes.
Transfer skillet to oven and cook for 8-10 minutes longer, until meat is cooked through and juices run clear. Transfer to a plate, smother with glaze, and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful week and Remember to Always Find the Time to Do ALL the things YOU L♥ve.
Donna

lemon poppy seed scones

Another treat for your Monday meeting.  My co workers are getting so spoiled.  After my return from vacation I didn't make anything for Monday because the day before had been Mother's Day and I didn't feel like baking.  They told me, well ok we'll let you slide this time!  HAHAHA.  As you can see I've been on a scone kick.  I find that they are so easy to make and I can put all the ingredients together in the food processor the night before then in the AM before work I just add the butter and wet ingredients.  Pop them in the freezer for 20 minutes while I shower and dress for work and then bake them so when I arrive at work they are usually still warm.  Boy what a treat.
These scones are really good and have a nice tartness to them.  Hope you give them a try.

Ingredients:

For the Scones:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons poppy seeds

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

1 large egg

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup 10% cream

For the Glaze:

1/4 cup icing sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the large bowl of a food processor, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt), pulsing a few times until combined.  Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Whisk egg and lemon juice together in a small bowl, then add to the food processor.  Pulse until moist clumps form.  Add the cream, and pulse just until the dough comes together.

Using floured hands, gather the dough into a ball and flatten into a 4x4-inch square on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Cut the square into three even rows and three even columns, forming 9 smaller squares.  Cut each square in half diagonally to form two triangles, making a total of 18 triangles.  (See this post for a similar example of forming mini scones). 

Spread the triangles evenly across the baking sheet, and bake in the preheated oven until scones are golden brown, about 20 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To make the lemon glaze, whisk together the icing sugar and lemon juice until a pourable glaze forms.  Once scones have cooled, use a spoon to drizzle icing over the scones (or transfer the icing to a ziplock bag, snip off the corner, and squeeze out).  Serve immediately.

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful week and Always Remember to Find the Time to Do all the Things You L ♥ve
Donna